“Gouzi, they’re short on meat over there. Why don’t we head into the mountains again?”
Lin Lao Jiu’s heart raced at the thought of the money and coupons in his bag.
This haul, he figured, would net him at least thirty to nearly forty yuan.
In the village, a whole family could barely save twenty yuan in a year.
Even an ordinary factory worker in the city only made about twenty-seven yuan a month.
To earn nearly forty a month, you’d have to be a level-three worker or higher—a real skilled veteran.
If he could pull this off a few more times, he could buy a job in the city and become a city dweller.
Then he could even marry a pretty wife.
Otherwise, with his reputation, even a widow would probably look down on him.
The man called Gouzi shook his head calmly and spoke in a cold voice.
“No. We moved a lot of goods last time. If we go again so soon, it’ll draw attention.
The most important thing for us brothers is safety. Otherwise, no matter how much money we make, it’s useless.”
Lin Lao Jiu’s fiery excitement was doused like cold water splashed on hot coals. He immediately calmed down.
He was right. If you weren’t around anymore, what good was the money?
“Alright. I’ll listen to you.”
Gouzi counted the money and coupons Lin Lao Jiu had handed him, then pulled a stack of his own from a pocket sewn into his waistband. He set aside a portion, wrapped up the rest in bundles, and handed them to Lin Lao Jiu.
“This is for you and your brothers.”
“Th-this… Gouzi, isn’t this too much?”
Looking at what Gouzi had counted, Lin Lao Jiu could tell the stack meant for the brothers was definitely more than fifty yuan.
“Xiao He’s grandmother is sick, isn’t she? Give this to him. Tell him to take her to the hospital.”
Gouzi’s voice remained cold.
Lin Lao Jiu was taken aback. His nose stung, and a wave of warmth surged through his heart. He nodded firmly.
“…Mm!”
…
Although the sky was overcast, Tian Baozhu guessed it was around noon.
In the distance, smoke was beginning to rise in wisps from the village houses.
Tian Baozhu figured that after all the commotion she had caused today, it was no longer appropriate for her to keep living with the other educated youths.
Besides, with her space, sharing a kang with others would make it inconvenient to enter.
So, the best course of action was to use today’s incident as an opportunity to find a way to live separately.
However, she only had three yuan and twenty cents in cash and coupons—not nearly enough to build her own place.
One, there wasn’t enough time. Two, she didn’t have the money.
But regardless, she had to at least ask around.
If all else failed, she’d continue staying with the female educated youths for now. Once that scumbag paid her back, she’d postpone buying a watch and use the money to build a house instead.
Even if she had to keep sharing, she wouldn’t let herself be taken advantage of.
The only thing would be to be extra, extra careful when using things from the space.
But she definitely wouldn’t go to the brigade leader’s house.
After all, Cheng Baole was the precious daughter of the brigade leader.
Given how she had confronted Cheng Baole and Tan Yandong earlier, if she went to the brigade leader’s house now asking for help, they would likely make things difficult for her.
So, it was better to go to Party Branch Secretary Liu’s house in the village.
In Chengjiawan Village, the Cheng family was the dominant clan, while the Liu family had moved in later. Although the Lius were not few in number, they ultimately couldn’t match the Chengs.
Within the Chengjiawan production brigade, while the position of Party Branch Secretary was held by a Liu, both the brigade leader and the accountant were Chengs.
Because of this, on the surface, the Liu and Cheng families got along, but behind the scenes, there was constant undercurrent tension, each vying for influence.
Since Tian Baozhu had offended the Chengs, her only remaining option was to build ties with the Lius.
She thought for a moment, then took a bundle of dried noodles from her space. She tore off the outer packaging and tossed it back into the space, then took a piece of wax paper from her predecessor’s chest, wrapped the noodles in it, and tucked it into her coat.
Leaving the educated youth compound, she got her bearings and headed toward Party Branch Secretary Liu’s house.
“Aunt Yuegui, is Party Branch Secretary Liu at home?”
Tian Baozhu knocked on Liu Quanguo’s door and called out loudly.
“Coming, coming! Who is it?
Oh! It’s Educated Youth Xiao Tian!
Your uncle is inside. Come in.”
Qi Yuegui opened the door, paused for a moment when she saw Tian Baozhu, then smiled warmly and invited her in.
Tian Baozhu didn’t stand on ceremony. She smiled and nodded at Qi Yuegui before walking straight into the courtyard.
Qi Yuegui felt a slight unease. Their family had never had much to do with the educated youths at the compound.
When the educated youths needed something—like an introduction letter—they usually went to Brigade Leader Cheng Aiwen, rarely seeking out her husband, Old Liu.
“Cough, cough. Wife, who’s that?”
Party Branch Secretary Liu tapped the ash from his clay pipe, gave a couple of coughs, and lifted the door curtain to look outside.
“Party Branch Secretary Liu, it’s me—Tian Baozhu from the educated youth compound.”
Tian Baozhu had been smiling since she entered the yard.
Now that she saw Secretary Liu, her smile grew even sweeter.
Secretary Liu felt the same unease as his wife, though he didn’t show it. He simply gestured for Tian Baozhu to come inside.
As soon as she entered, without even sitting down, Tian Baozhu pulled the bundle of noodles from her coat and pressed it into Qi Yuegui’s hands.
“Aunt Yuegui, I’m sorry to come by so abruptly without bringing anything good. Please accept this.”
Qi Yuegui looked at the noodles wrapped in wax paper. With a slight heft, she could tell it was about a catty.
Seeing how white the noodles were, she couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. Weren’t these made from the finest refined flour?
“This… this is too valuable. We can’t accept it.”
Though Qi Yuegui was tempted by the bundle of noodles, she knew that for Educated Youth Tian to bring such a generous gift, what she was asking for must be significant.
Her husband had been Party Branch Secretary for so many years; she couldn’t be the one to undermine him.
So she firmly pressed the noodles back into Tian Baozhu’s arms.
Secretary Liu frowned, a hint of displeasure in his voice.
“Educated Youth Tian, if you have something to say, just say it. If it’s something I can do, I’ll do it. If it’s not, no amount of gifts will change that.”
Hearing Secretary Liu’s words, Tian Baozhu’s initial nervousness settled.
Smiling, she took the bundle of noodles and casually placed it on the kang table.
Before Secretary Liu could frown again and speak, she started.
“Party Branch Secretary Liu, this is just a small token of respect from a younger person. It has nothing to do with what I’m about to ask.
Because I had a little conflict with a few of the educated youths this morning, I wanted to ask you, Secretary Liu, if there are any empty houses in the village. I’d like to rent one for a few months.
Don’t worry, I’m fine with the rent being a bit higher.”